Bollington Festival Music Theatre Update for 2024
Cheshire’s unique performance group for 7-13s
The Music Theatre has been in existence since 1986 and only Covid prevented it meeting, rehearsing and performing at least twice a year ever since. It enjoyed a new lease of life after the strange times of the pandemic, and in May 2024 was ready to give a public performance, telling in Get in the Queue, James! the imagined late Victorian childhood of Bollington’s Nobel Prize winning physicist James Chadwick. Some of the group also performed on the outdoor stage at the Bollington Festival Diamond Jubilee Jamboree.
All children are welcome to join without audition and each project starts with a Taster Session to find out more. Rehearsals and performances are on Sunday afternoons, and are FREE, thanks to the generosity of Bollington Arts Centre, a charity run by volunteers which wishes to encourage young performers and innovative theatre. But parents and audiences are asked to make donations which go towards covering the cost of scripts, publicity, breaktime refreshments, and items for costumes and props. Thanks to people’s generosity, even in the time regrouping since Covid, BFMT has been able to pay a useful sum back to the Arts Centre.
Two brand new Drama and Music projects are planned for Autumn 2024 and Spring 2025.
- Autumn 2024 – Follow the Star – A family that moves from Bollington to Czechia finds Christmas is very different. They must satisfy the demands of the scary Lucia witches, join in Nativity and Three Kings Parades, write about presents to Baby Jesus rather than Santa, and keep a live carp in the bath ready for Christmas dinner. Part of the action will be set to extracts from a Baroque Christmas Mass sung by members of the Festival Choir, and the children will create other scenes with words and songs.
- Spring 2024 – Mothers’ Day! On which day the group will tell the tale of a young girl from Victorian Bollington who, aged just ten, goes to work as a maid in a grand house. She only has Boxing Day and Mother’s Day off to see her family. Forbidden to visit her mum as a punishment for burning her mistress’ favourite handkerchief while ironing it, she and her brother run away and embark on a perilous journey back home.
The Music Theatre rehearses and performs at the Arts Centre, and has been in every Bollington Festival since taking part in Britten’s Noye’s Fludde in 1986. There are always costumes, props, stage lighting, words and live music to help tell the stories. There are no auditions to join. Everyone who comes along can be in the show, and casting is decided as part of the rehearsal process. Quite often, actors find themselves sharing a large part or taking on more than one small role.
The group’s founder and director Donald Judge writes regularly for the group. Several of his works – like Get in the Queue, James! and Mothers’ Day! are set in Bollington and draw on the town’s unique character and history. Others are inspired by folk tales (and folk music), myths and legends, and true stories from Britain, Europe and further afield. Donald was a primary school teacher for many years and so is used to directing children and discussing issues raised in the stories at an age appropriate level. The cast is encouraged to empathise and to consider the characters’ personalities, motives and actions. In rehearsals, the emphasis is on teamwork, patience, and developing musical and theatrical skills in a relaxed, supportive environment. The format of the projects helps to keep everyone involved as much as possible throughout the rehearsals and the performance. Children often surprise themselves with what they can achieve in a short rehearsal time, while a frequent comment from parents is that being a part of the group raises their child’s confidence.
Please keep an eye on the Events page for confirmation of dates, times and further details.
